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The Problem of Billy Budd

When a monumental new edition of Billy Budd appeared in 1962, it was the hope of the editors that their exhaustive scholarship might contribute to a definitive interpretation of the novel. Such a wish might seem unnecessarily restrictive, but the extreme critical divergence on Billy Budd has created...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PMLA : Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 1965-12, Vol.80 (5), p.489-498
Main Author: Rosenberry, Edward H.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:When a monumental new edition of Billy Budd appeared in 1962, it was the hope of the editors that their exhaustive scholarship might contribute to a definitive interpretation of the novel. Such a wish might seem unnecessarily restrictive, but the extreme critical divergence on Billy Budd has created a genuine threat to its artistic integrity as a result of its apparent failure to support a demonstrable reading. This essay is an attempt to end the war, or to make the end more predictable.
ISSN:0030-8129
1938-1530
DOI:10.2307/460840